1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cosmetic composition having one or more of a gap junction inhibitor and/or one or more of choline acetyl transferase (CAT) inhibitors. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of relaxing facial skeletal muscles and reducing the appearance of deep wrinkles.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Purslane plant family includes including Portulaca oleracea (“green purslane”), Portulaca sativa (“golden purslane”), and Atriplex portulacoides (“sea purslane”).
The plant Portulaca oleracea belongs to a genus of succulent annuals commonly occur in moderate to warm climates and include Purslane, Pigweed, Munyeroo, Thukouro, Lifa, Coupier, Little Hogweed, and Perpine. The juice and aqueous extracts from this plant have been used to treat various illnesses such as swelling, whitlow, bruises, boils, earache, toothache, swelling, abscesses (topical) and as a vermifuge and diuretic (Okwuasaba et al., 1986).
The Golden Purslane (Portulaca sativa) is a variety of Purslane with yellow leaves, less hardy than green purslane, but possessing the same qualities. The seeds of an individual plant have been known to produce both green and golden leaves. Other species of Purslane plants include Sea Purslane (Atriplex portulacoides), which is commonly found along the sea shores of England and Ireland. A review of the records for folklore and scientific uses of Portulaca oleracea indicate that this species has had many medicinal uses, such as, significant anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects (Chan et al., 2000), anti-mutagenicity (Yet et al., 2001), antifungal (Oh et al., 2000), antifertility (Verma et al., 1982), reduced cancer and heart disease (Mohamed et al., 1994), controlling intestinal worms, parasites (Quinlan et al., 2002) as well as for application towards strangury, dry cough, shortness of breath, immoderate thirst, inflammation and sores, hot agues, want of sleep, all pains in the head proceedings from the heat, and the frenzy (Grieve's A Modern Herbal), for the treatment of cancer (U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,060, Yeon et al., issued Feb. 9, 1999), as an anti-microbial and antifungal active (U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,855, Albacarys et al., issued Jan. 15, 2002), and as a non-steroidal cosmetic soothing active (U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,208, McAtee et al., issued Nov. 28, 2000), as a sunscreen agent from natural sources (U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,312, Unger et al., issued Oct. 20, 1998), as an antidiabetic agent to control blood sugar levels (Japanese Patent No. JP 63,208,531, Kin et al., published Aug. 30, 1988) and it has been referenced for the use as cosmetic soothing agents (U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,459, Sunshine et al., issued Jan. 15, 1991).
However, none of these patents disclose the use of Portulaca oleracea in the treatment of fine lines and wrinkles. In addition, while the properties of Portulaca oleracea as a muscle relaxant have also been studied (Okwuasaba et al., 1986, Okwuasaba et al., 1987(1), Okwuasaba et al., 1987(2), Okwuasaba et al., 1987(3), Parry et al., 1987(1), Parry et al., 1987(2), Parry et al., 1988, Parry et al., 1993, Habtemarin et al., 1993, Radhakrishnan et al., 2001), none of these studies report the use of Portulaca for reducing facial lines and wrinkles as directed by this application.
Botulinum toxin (also known by the tradename, Botox™, Allergen, Irvine, Calif.), is currently in vogue for treating wrinkles and fine lines, and acts on states of muscular spasticity by specifically inhibiting neurotransmission in nerve cells, thereby causing contracted muscles to relax (e.g., A. Blitzer et al., 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 6,344,461 B1 to L. Breton et al.). This toxin has been found to act on wrinkles of the glabella (wrinkles between the eyebrows) when injected subcutaneously, (see, J. D. Carruthers, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 6,344,461 B1 to L. Breton et al.).
However, the full extent of adverse effects related to long-term use of botulinum toxin and products or treatments containing this material are still not well established. Botulinum toxin treatment has been associated with a number of side effects including, transient fatigue, dysphagia, neck weakness, hoarseness, and localized pain. In addition, many patients who preliminarily respond to botulinum toxin, subsequently become non-responsive to treatment or exhibit muscle recruitment at the treatment site (where paralysis of a set of muscles leads to recruitment of other muscle groups in an attempt to counteract the paralysis, thereby causing wrinkles to actually become more prominent) (see, for instance, Becker, 2002; U.S. Patent No. US2002/00812914 to Hawrot).
Commonly owned U.S. Patent Publication No. 20040126352 A1 describes a composition and a method of improving the aesthetic appearance of skin using a composition having a Purslane plant, including treatment of fine lines and wrinkles.
Safe and effective of compositions to treat, prevent, reduce, inhibit, and/or improve the dermatological signs of aging, would be advantageous for the formulation of treatments and products for the skin. Therefore, there is a need in consumer products and cosmetic industry for a composition and method that can reduce the appearance of deep wrinkles.
As described herein, the present invention provides such a beneficial method and composition effective in the treatment of deep wrinkles.
The present invention is applicable to a variety of personal care products including, but not limited to, skin care and personal care cosmetics.